Dev only items?

Your metaphor works about as poorly as mine. I honestly don't care about the items, they're not in any style i'd be interested in using. But I don't like being called entitled for thinking putting them into every single copy of the game (on the off chance that the owner of that copy joins a server with the developer in it) is a dick move. I don't care that they made them. I don't care that they use them. I do care that they're part of my game's code.

 

This is kinda my point. It is selfish, and we have to deal with it.
Red may deserve to be a dick, but he doesn't have to and it would be nice if he wasn't.

 

Oh. Red is a dick. Never did like him.
I'm just saying developers have the right to put something for themselves in a game.
I mean, we don't get cranky when Hideo Kojima references himself 9 times in every metal gear solid game. Granted not exactly the same thing. I just feel like they're allowed to have fun with it.

Because that extra image and line of code really is just killing you, and totally detracts from everything else. Really bogs down your PC.

You'd never notice it outside of playing with the files. So I don't see what the problem is. It'll add a few KBs at most to the game.

 

Here's what everyone is fighting about, if you're curious and don't want to go poking in your files for.

 

I'm going to get a little philosophical now.

What someone "should" or "shouldn't" do is at issue, here. I might have the right to do something, but does that mean that nobody can say that I should do something else instead? People might say that Red shouldn't be a dick, but he does have the right to be. Now, of course this is all debatable, though. We're talking about Ethics, and what various people consider to be okay and not okay is always going to be different. In the end, my point is that what someone has the right to do and what someone should do are totally different things, even if they are somewhat related.

EDIT: It also has to do with justification. You can justify Red's actions, but that doesn't necessarily make them better than other actions.

 

Something about the way Red did it was sort of. Not okay. It just feels wrong. I'll give everyone that, and I agree that offline or on a local server you should be able to use all things in you should be able to mod yourself these things.

The point I'm really trying to make is that the Devs should be allowed to have their own things for the public servers if they so choose.

Side note: I understand why we all talk about 'that other game' here, but honestly I came to discuss Starbound.

Hmm. Well, I agree that they are in fact two different things, I believe in the case of a developer including a little extra something for themselves in a game is pretty fair under both roofs here. That's more opinion then fact, and like I have mentioned, something about the way Red did things just. Rubs me the wrong way. It's not how he 'should' have went about it. Once again opinion.

I'm thinking more in terms that if Starbound had items, intended for the devs, that wouldn't allow anyone but them to wear it on public server, but would be okay offline, local, or private. I would be 300% okay with that.

I'm no code monkey, so I'm not even sure that's a thing that can be done. That just seems to me what makes most sense.

 

It can. They could have integrated protection software delete the file after a certain amount of time unless the person's computer has a certificate file that identifies it as that developer's computer. I know that's how Enterbrain allows people to download trial copies of RPGMaker that lock-up unless you buy the software after the trial period is over. The file itself could upload to any server they visit, and download onto any other computer that accesses the server. This would also make it WAY harder to hack/obtain than simply adding some deadly statuses that can just be removed by a decent code monkey.

 

Thanks for the insight. I used to code a little bit when I was still in highschool, but it was base stuff. I wanted to go to college for it, but I started working right out of highschool instead.

Kinda regret that I never went, though I can't complain too much about the results so far.

 

Because having random stuff in the code affects your ability to enjoy the game -- oh wait, it doesn't, because it has no impact on anything you'd notice without digging in the code. That's like complaining about unused code/images/locations being left in a game, which in case you're unaware, practically every game in existence does.

 

Can't people just... Mod it in? >_>

 

Ultimately, yeah. They can probably work around any block someone puts in if they tried hard enough.
We've been using Red's set from Terraria as an example. It was pretty easy to mod in for yourself, but only red could wear it without it killing the wearer. Which was widely regarded as not cool.

I've been making a case that offline if you want to mod you should have access to everything, but online only the devs should have access to their items. Should they even choose to give themselves specific items at any point. Which some people seem opposed to the very idea the devs would do anything so selfish as to spend 10 minutes making themselves an item.

 

I know the Dev items for Terraria can be easily modded in with an inventory manager of some sort, can't you however change the string ID so it removes all the debuffs applied to your character?
For instance with the carrot item for the Collector's edition of Terraria, it could only be activated if your copy had a string name: Bunny and set to: 1. Giving the carrot to anybody that doesn't have string applied in multiplayer does nothing, likewise if someone had the string id and enabled it could be summoned.
Back to Starbound I really have no problem with it, preferably if the items magically worked only in local.

 

If Tiy's signature scarf and hat aren't available to players, I'm going to flip shit.

 

Your terminology is confusing. Adding Red's wings in my inventory is not modding it in, it is more hacking it in. Modding means changing the code, either directly or by injection. If someone modded dev items into the came, it would be stupid to do it without removing the buffs (If you know how to add or remove items this shouldn't be a problem)

No. For 3 reasons.

The first reason is that unused content is unused. And if it is usable, people WILL complain about why was this left off if it was completed.
The second reason is that unused content is generally not finished. If you make an icon for a gun in a FPS and the gun itself is not here nobody will ever be able to use it until the gun code and model is finished.
The third reason is that games that allow modding usually (always ?) allow peope to use unused assets. For example if there are 3 NPCs for a cut location they won't complain if you use those NPCs to make your own version of the cut location. But here, devs explicitly forbid people to put mods that remove debuffs on official forums. Of course this is a soft limit - I think that if you just remove the debuffs but also everything else to "ban" the items this would work - but still.

But even then, those dev items are what makes the difference between a game rated 6 and a game rated 9. If you want me to review the game, I will take everything into account. The dev is indeed able to put items only for himself and be the only one able to wear it. A dev team can perfectly. If I had to review Terraria right now ? I'd give it a 7. Note that it would have earned a 9 at 1.0.6.1 time. To summarize I would say "Admirable art, beautiful soundtrack, exemplar maniability and a truckload amount of content is really worth your money, but questionable design choices coupled with a very awkward balance set the otherwise wonderful game back".
If there is a 1.3 I really hope this will focus on balance and existing content. Terraria really doesn't need new items where people already complain about the latest ones.

tl;dr
Putting items of you available to everyone is an hommage to yourself.
Putting items of you available for you only is an insult to players.

 

I just dont understand dev's logic sometimes. Making op items just for yourself and bragging with it. I could understand if it was just vanity item but man doesnt make sense. I really hope that Starbound doesnt have same, it doesnt matter how good game is or anything, as long as dev's are trolling you or something it kinda turns me off from game. Terraria is good but red items example are just unfair. YOu might as well make game only yourself and never release it for others. If i would make game i would want everyone have fun and try to give game for everyone to enjoy, not just milk money and say deal with it.

 

I wish I could delete the thread, but since I can't, can an admin or someone lock it? I really do not like the direction it's gone.

 

Was Starbound even mentioned on the last two pages?

 

Well yeah, I left off the Starbound part of my post.

The point is, Starbound doesn't need dev-only items. As I said, Red admitted that they coded the debuffs because if they didn't they would have no way to prove they were the actual devs and not some jerk with his dev-impersonating crew, at least not without saying on the forums/IRC "Yes I am the true Red/Cenx/Etc and I'm on X's server and my IP is X.X.X.X". From what I've read, Starbound will ship with an auth system ala Minecraft. Of course this doesn't mean they have not to bring dev-only items, but they'll have to find another reason and live with the consequences.

 

If there were dev items for Starbound, it should be related to the actual person, and should be aesthetic with no feature, as-well as obtainable for everyone as a some sort of hidden 'easter egg' item.

The dev armour in Terraria had potential, the artwork.. Ah, what a waste.

 

Guys, we're arguing about dev armor in Terraria on a thread about STARBOUND.

Just food for thought.